1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a storage apparatus for equipment, intended to be detachably assembled into information equipment such as a personal computer in use, and more particularly to a storage apparatus for equipment for protecting stored information against an unjust handling.
2. Description of the Related Art
The security of information stored in information equipment such as a personal computer has been hitherto achieved under the control of a security system implemented by a software of the information equipment. For example, upon a power-on activation of the information equipment, the security system demands an input of a password to prevent a user having no access qualification from unjustly accessing.
However, in the case of the protection of the stored information by means of such a conventional password based security system, it would be possible for the user having no access qualification to access by employing procedures in which the information equipment is disassembled to remove an internal storage apparatus such as a memory board or a hard disk drive, which in turn is connected to another system to access the data within the storage apparatus.
According to the present invention, there is provided a storage apparatus for equipment capable of securely preventing an unjust access in which the equipment is disassembled to fetch the stored information.
A storage apparatus for equipment in accordance with the present invention is assembled into the equipment in use and comprises a storage unit for storing information; a connection detecting unit for detecting a removal from the equipment; an injustice judgment unit for judging when the connection detecting unit has detected a removal from the equipment whether it is an unjust removal or not; and a security processing unit for executing an action for protecting the information of the storage unit when the injustice judgment unit has judged that an unjust removal has taken place. When the storage apparatus itself has judged that it has been unjustly removed, a protecting action is effected which prevents the data of the storage unit from being fetched to the exterior using the internal battery as a power source, thereby making it possible to remarkably improve the data security performance of the storage apparatus.
A battery is further provided which is incorporated for supplying an electric power upon the removal from the apparatus.
The injustice judgment unit is provided with a switch which is required to be mechanically operated upon a removal from the equipment, the injustice judgment unit judging that an unjust removal has taken place when the switch has been removed without any operation or with an incorrect operation, to effect the protection of the information. For this reason, only one who knows a correct procedure to operate the switch is allowed to normally fetch the stored information to the exterior, prohibiting the information from being unjustly fetched from the storage apparatus through the disassembling of the equipment. The injustice judgment unit is provided with a register which is required to be operated by a software upon a removal from the equipment, the injustice judgment unit judging that an unjust removal has taken place when the register has been removed without any operation or with an incorrect operation. In this case as well, only one who knows a correct procedure to operate the register is allowed to normally fetch the stored information to the exterior, thereby securely preventing the information from being unjustly fetched from the storage apparatus through the disassembling of the equipment. A storage control unit is further provided which controls read and write of information from and to the storage unit. The security processing unit is provided with a data destruction unit for writing meaningless data into the storage unit to destroy the original data when it is judged that an unjust removal has taken place. The security processing unit may be provided with an encipher unit for enciphering the data of the storage unit when it is judged that an unjust removal has taken place. In the case where the encipher unit has been provided, a decoding unit may be provided if necessary for restoring data enciphered by the encipher unit into original data.
The storage unit is provided with a first storage unit (first storage area) for use in an ordinary state and a second storage unit (second storage area) out of use in the ordinary state, and the security processing unit is provided with a data destruction unit which when it is judged that an unjust removal has taken place, copies data of the first storage area into the second storage area and writes meaningless data to the first storage area to thereby destroy the original data. In this instance, a data recovery unit may further be provided for returning data stored in the second storage area into the first storage area. A buffer storage unit may be disposed between the storage unit and an equipment connection terminal unit, and the security processing unit is provided with a buffer data conversion unit which when data are fetched via the buffer storage unit from the storage unit after the judgment of an unjust removal, converts them into meaningless data in the buffer storage unit. In this case, a conversion inhibition unit may be provided for inhibiting the conversion by the buffer data conversion unit into meaningless data. The security processing unit may be provided with a circuit destruction unit which when it is judged that an unjust removal has taken plate, destroys physically a circuit function at a predetermined site of the apparatus to thereby disable the read control unit for a data read from the storage unit, the physical destruction including for instance electric short, mechanical breakage, thermal breakage by heating, etc.
The present invention is also directed to a storage apparatus for equipment incorporating no batteries, which in this case comprises a storage unit for storing information; a connection detecting unit for detecting a removal from the equipment; an injustice judgment unit for judging when the connection detecting unit has detected a removal from the equipment whether it is an unjust removal from the equipment or not; and a security processing unit for executing an action for protecting the information of the storage unit upon the reconnection after the injustice judgment unit has judged that an unjust removal has taken place. In the case of no batteries incorporated, the security processing unit is provided with a read inhibition unit for inhibiting the storage control unit from reading data from the storage unit upon the reception of a read demand from the exterior as a result of reconnection after the injustice judgment unit has judged that an unjust removal has taken place. The securing processing unit is further provided with an inhibition release unit for releasing a read inhibiting action against a read demand from the storage control unit by the read inhibition unit.
A storage apparatus for equipment, having no batteries and assembled into the equipment in use, comprises a storage unit for storing information; a connection detecting unit for detecting a removal from the equipment; an injustice judgment unit for judging when the connection detecting unit has detected a removal from the equipment whether it is an unjust removal or not; an unjust removal storage unit which when the injustice judgment unit has judged that an unjust removal has taken place, stores and holds the unjust removal; and a security processing unit which when it has been enabled for action by the supply of external power as a result of reconnection to the equipment after the removal, executes an action for protecting the information of the storage unit on the basis of memory of the unjust removal.
A storage apparatus having no batteries and assembled into equipment in use comprises a storage unit for storing information; an unjust removal notice unit for judging an unjust removal from an initial motion upon the removal from the equipment to notify the user of it in advance; and a security processing unit for executing an action for protecting the information of the storage unit on the basis of the notice of an unjust removal before the actual removal from the equipment, in the pre-removal external power supply state connected to the equipment. The storage apparatus to which the present invention is directed can be for example in the form of a memory card or a hard disk drive which is freely attachable to and detachable from the equipment.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.